Almost Human
by Alias - Eyelash - Blue
Summary: Maximum Ride/Torchwood. Max and the Flock are in Wales and unexpectedly encounter the Torchwood gang. Please enjoy, read, and review. Rated for slight swears. I'm sorry, This story has been abandoned in partial completeness.
1. Chapter 1

Here we go again.

I ran to the edge of the cliff, jumped, and flew off the edge in a perfect, textbook dive.

And i mean literally _flew_.

Because there was no water beneath me. No pool, no lake, no river, just endless sky and then far below the green pinprick fields.

I let myself fall for a few seconds and then unfurled my wings and soared upwards. It felt amazing. The wind whipping my hair and the heady rush as i

climbed higher and higher through the clouds. I really love that feeling.

Then i tucked my wings in, extending them just a little to guide myself and bombed back down. I unfurled my wings suddenly, the wind caught them and

yanked me upwards. _Yeowch!_

Okay that was dumb. The pain in my shoulder blades subsided and i glided the last few feet to where the flock were waiting.

Fang looked at me. "What?" i cried.

He narrowed his eyes. Jeez! It would help if you actually, you know, spoke! I thought, but Fang isn't the chatty type. Big Understatement.

Still, I knew what he meant. I'm supposed to be the leader of our little gang and leaders don't shoot off into the clouds, giggling manically.

Well, most don't anyway. Especially not when they're on the run in unknown territory.

Then Nudge cannoned into me. I was knocked off balance and dropped a bit, but managed to recover and flew up to hover next to them.

"Nudge!" I snapped.

"Soz," she chirped, darting away from me. Fang raised his eyebrows. Okay. Okay, i get it! I'm the leader. The flock tend to look up to me. Well some of

them. The younger ones at any rate. I suspect Fang only went along with it because he didn't want to leave me in charge on my own. As just proved, i

can be a bit of an idiot sometimes, so its probably just as well. Even so, i was the eldest and Fang was right, as usual, Nudge's cannoning into people

was just her copying me. Oops.

_Note to self: Less cannoning._

Okay. Be leaderly. Go on... Lead. I took off again, flying ahead, the flock fell in behind me. I had no idea where i was going.

"Right," I said. I stopped. "Soz?" I repeated, looking at Nudge questioningly.

"Yeah! It's what they say over here. Everyone says it," she replied excitedly, coasting along next to me.

Everyone. Who's everyone? We've only been here five minutes, we don't know Everyone. Correction, we don't know Anyone.

How does she pick up this stuff? Nudge seems to have a built in Blend meter. Which would work great if she didn't have giant bird wings.

"What does it mean?" I asked

Nudge shrugged "It means Sorry, i think,"

I nodded.

Talk the talk. Walk the Walk. I thought.

_Fly the Flight. _My voice said.

I sighed. It's not like I'm gonna forget that i have wings, thank you very much. Plus in mid air would be a pretty bad time to do it.

Okay. Time for a recap. Yes! I have wings! My name is Max. Maximum Ride. Like it? I chose it for myself. So did the rest of the flock. We don't have

parents so we never had names except for the ones we gave ourselves.

Theres six of us, Me, Fang and Iggy (who's blind). We're fourteen. Nudge, eleven, Gazzy, eight and Angel, who's six.

We are kids with wings. We were brought up in a science lab at a place called the school, where our DNA was genetically engineered and crossed

with a bird's to give us wings. They were also the ones that tried to enhance Iggy's eyesight and made him blind forever. So naturally, we don't really

like to talk about it. Currently the six of us are in Wales. Yup. Great Britain. Don't ask me why. I'm a little hazy on it myself. We were on our way to

Washington DC and got, well, intercepted. You guessed it. Erasers. The school got us. Long story short we took a Plane. Yeah, i know, but trust me,

even we can't fly that far. So we took a Plane, First Class. And by First Class, i mean, Cages, Baggage compartment. Nice, huh. Weirdly though, The

voice in my head had remained relatively cheerful. And it felt right.

At the other end there was a fight, which we won. And we escaped, but now we're in Wales, with no idea what the hell is going on. I mean, Wales! And since the

plane landed in a field in the middle of nowhere, i don't know where we are either.

Interesting.

What am i supposed to do now?

_What do you want to do Max?_

Oh yeah. And i have this voice in my head. One that's not mine, i mean. It seems to know a lot, but doesn't tell me anything. You'd think it could at least

try to be helpful, since I'm the one that has to carry it round inside my head. Yeah yeah. I know I'm crazy.

_You're not crazy Max. And i am being helpful. I want to help you, you just have to trust me. This is where your path leads Max. You were meant to come to Wales. It's part of your destiny._

Yeah. And it thinks my destiny is to save the world. Thanks for the help. I'm stuck in Wales trying to look after myself and my friends. Trying to be

the leader even though i have no idea where we are or what to do. We are gonna get eaten alive here, cos unless i come up with something I'm just

gonna keep flying in a straight line until we get caught again, but don't worry everyone because i'm going to save the world. That is NOT helping. We

need a hideout or some cover or somewhere to regroup. I do not need to be told about my destiny.

_Don't worry Max. Their not following you now. _

Something about the way the voice said it. Their not following _you. _So who where they following? Were there others like us here in Britain?

Even so, i thought. We need to stop.

_All you have to do is ask._

I really was mental. "Please voice, we need somewhere to lie low for a couple of hours," I whispered under my breath. I opened my eyes to see Gazzy

giving me an odd look.

"What did you s-"

The voice interrupted

_No problem Max. That line of trees up ahead. Do a sharp U-turn round it._

I relayed that to the rest of the flock. Gazzy looked at me again. It was annoying me that i still couldn't quite figure out his expression.

"Is it your crazy voice again?" he asked. You know for an eight year old he's remarkably perspective. I heard Fang stifle a laugh behind me.

"Yeah it is," I replied, quickly cutting off the conversation as i swerved round the trees, bringing down a rain of leaves.

_Now following the fence, take two lefts and a right._ The voice commanded. I did so, the flock following my every move flawlessly.

I kept following the voice's instructions through the seemingly identical cluster of trees and then suddenly out of nowhere a smooth rock face rose up

in front of me. The forest we were in backed up against an artificial cliff face. It had been built for Rock climbing, or so the voice told me. It had been

abandoned since the owner ran out of money and now natural weathering and erosion had made it useless for anyone but really experienced climbers.

And there should be a small cave..._here!_

I called the rest of the flock over. It'd do for a few hours at least.

"Nice," Fang said "Homey,"

"Shut up," I said. He grinned. Glad to see he's feeling alright.

The others however, weren't as cheerful. "I need to sit down," Gazzy moaned. Angel didn't even speak, but slumped to the floor of the cave, leaning her

back against the wall, looking glum. Typically, Nudge said "I'm hungry,"

I felt so bad. I was supposed to be looking after them. "Where are we?" Iggy asked.

"We're in a cave, Ig," Gazzy said.

"Oh," he said, which made me feel worse.

"It's a nice cave though," Nudge said. I wanted the ground to swallow me.

"Sorry i couldn't do better guys, but at least its out of the way," I mumbled.

"It's fine," Fang said "what's more urgent is food," He was right, again. Fang puts things in perspective.

"I think I saw lights, of a town or something," I said "I'll go there and bring stuff back. I'll be back in a few hours,"

"What if you're not?" Iggy asked. I didn't have an answer. I didn't know what to do. Usually we had a meeting point, but i was lost. .

I pretended not to hear but i met Fang's eyes and he understood. If i don't come back, you're in charge.

A few minutes flying and it came into view. A mass of lights beneath me. A town? More lights appeared over the crest of the hill. A city?

I landed a mile or so out and peered at a road sign. It came sharply into focus. Night vision sure is handy.

"Cardiff." Never heard of it. I began to walk towards the town. I was too close to fly without the possibility of being seen. As i passed the road sign

something caught my eye. On the other side of the sign. The metal side, without writing. Someone had grafitied in bright red paint, "Torchwood". . .


	2. Chapter 2

The flock sat in silence. No one was talking, not even Nudge. She didn't feel like she had the energy. She was starving. Max had gone to get food, but it felt like hours since she had left. What if

Max didn't come back? She felt guilty for thinking this, but the reality was, Max didn't know what she was doing. Nudge could tell. Nudge gave a quiet moan under her breath. Her stomach was

probably digesting itself! She needed food NOW.

She opened her eyes to see Fang leaning against the wall with his eyes shut. She didn't know if he felt as bad as she did or if he was just resting or whatever.

Iggy, who had been lying on his back on the floor, suddenly stiffened and sat up quickly. "What is it?" Angel asked.

The Gasman sat up too "What did you hear?" he asked. He sounded scared, but then, Nudge realised, so was she. They didn't know what to do if the Erasers came. "Footsteps," Iggy

breathed. Max? Nudge thought. She looked at Fang. He put his finger to his lips. They all fell silent.

Nudge barely dared to breath. It was so quiet her ears began to ring. Then she heard it too. Footsteps.

Silently, Fang got to his feet and motioned for them to leave the cave, pointing to the trees. Right. They could hide up the trees. No one looks in trees. Unless, whoever it was knew they could

fly and in that case, they couldn't hide. It always ended in a fight. Nudge sighed.

They knew that whoever it was couldn't see them yet, probably. For the flock, people's sound traveled before them. They had a few minutes, hopefully.

Nudge forced herself to stand, she felt so tired. She began to creep after Fang as quietly as she could.

Then the world seemed to change. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Either that or everything else was moving really really fast. She felt so tired. So very tired. She felt herself sink

slowly to the floor, as she watched the flock take off into the sky. Then she looked down and saw the small dart sticking out of her leg. Fuzzily she saw men in black surrounding her. Then

everything went dark.

* * *

Fang turned in mid-air to see Nudge collapsing and the men closing in. "But she was right there! She was right behind us!" The gasman was yelling at his side. "What is it? What happened?"

Iggy was shooting off urgent questions. Angel was staring intently at the men.

One man turned suddenly and caught them hovering above the trees. He didn't hesitate in raising his gun.

"Scatter!" Fang yelled. The flock split and dove into the cover of the trees.

* * *

The Gasman landed heavily on the branch of a tree. Iggy had been tailing him closely and landed next to him. He could feel Iggy shaking, with fear or anger or something else, he didn't know

what, but they both had enough sense to stay quiet until the noise died away.

The gasman too was beginning to shake. He wanted to punch something. Anything. He wanted to go down there and kick their butts. How dare they try do this! But Fang wasn't fighting, Fang

was scattering. He was running. How bad could it be?

They waited until the natural silence of the wood returned. He was beginning to get a cramp from staying still in this tree so long.

Finally he heard Fang's low bird imitation and they went to join him in a nearby tree.

The Gasman landed. He was so angry he nearly fell out of the tree. Then he exploded.

"Why didn't we go down there? They were only stupid guys. We could have kicked their butts, big time!"

He glared furiously at Fang, who calmly returned his stare. "What happened!" Iggy yelled. "I can't see remember! Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on!"

"Some people caught Nudge," Fang supplied. "And He let them!" Gazzy cut in.

"Listen," Fang said calmly "We don't know who they are. The school brought us here remember. They could be anything and they had guns. We can't rescue her if we get captured,"

"Everyone be quiet and listen," Angel said in a low voice. They stopped and looked at her. She hadn't said anything for hours and now she sounded so demanding. It was scary.

"I read the man's mind," She said matter of factly. Like that happens all the time, but then, for the flock, it did.

"They're not from the school," she continued, "They're something else, but they know we're not...normal,"

Fang nodded slowly. It was so irritating that he could be so cool and calm when the gasman felt like he was about to snap.

Jeez! First Angel. Now Nudge. Why did this always happen? Couldn't anyone let them be all six together for more than five days.

Obviously not.

"What do we do now?" Iggy asked quietly.

"We wait," Fang said.

Gasman wanted to protest, but knew he couldn't, after all, what else could they do?

They waited...

And waited...

And, you guessed it, waited some more.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack was pacing up and down. Gwen stormed into the room looking furious.

"Jack take a look at this!" she cried flinging a document down on his desk.

He gave it an absent minded glance, his attention on something else. Then he almost did a double take, picking it up to look at it more closely.

"Mr J P Granson," he read aloud.

"They got another sighting and they caught something too,"

"I thought we already told that guy," Owen said, annoyed.

"Obviously he didn't get the message," Jack sighed. He hated these collectors. Obsessive nuts who collected alien artifacts just for the hell of it. Old geezers with too much money and too much time. Idiot scientists past their prime with no idea what they were dealing with, but this guy was different. More focused. With ambition. Jack knew he had been hiding something last time.

So.. they thought they'd caught an alien did they. Jack thought. We'll see about that.

"Toshiko get us a route there. We're gonna pay them a visit!"

* * *

I was on the outskirts of the city in a maze of seemingly identical terraced houses. Even though the streets were deserted my nerves were twanging. I was starting to freak out. And i'd

just realised i had no money. How was i supposed to feed five hungry mutants with no money? I didn't even know what freakin currency they use here! What is it? Pounds? Pounds. Not

Dollars. Since i had none of either, it didn't matter much.

I was trailing along the streets scuffing my sneakers, just looking at the ground. And then it was just there. A twenty, on the ground by my feet. It was just lying there.

I looked round suspiciously. I mean, come on! I'm not gonna fall for that. The note even looked crisp and new. What, did it fall out of a truck on the way to the nearest bank!

Who finds a twenty on the sidewalk! Well, i guess i do.

Is this another one of your credit cards in tree things? I asked the voice. It didn't answer. Big surprise. Still what do i know. Maybe people find money in the streets all over Britain.

Maybe it rains out of the sky! I started to laugh to myself. I couldn't help it. It was either laugh or cry.

A few more minutes and i found the nearest store. It was a small one on the corner. The Local kind. I walked through the door, the bell tinkling and nearly making me have a heart

attack. There was no one in the store and no one behind the counter. I went to go stand by the assorted chocolate bars, conscious of my loudly growling stomach. How long had i been

gone. It was already dark out. A couple of hours at least. Jeez. The Flock were probably eating the god damn dirt by now.

I bought two loaves of bread, cheese, chocolate and a big 2 litre bottle of juice, along with loads of other little packets of E numbers. Gazzy practically lives on E numbers, but, I didn't

want to spend all the money at once. Obviously. Cos I'm smart like that.

I was surprised by how much smaller everything was here, and how much more expensive. By the time i'd payed for all my stuff i'd spent like half of my money.

I guess i shouldn't be surprised. I thanked the woman who served me and she thanked me back. I stopped. I almost stared at her. I'd forgotten about the accents, but it wasn't even

what i was expecting. It wasn't like the horsey English accents off TV or something. I almost laughed, but didn't want to be that rude.

Then i had a flash of inspiration, prompted by the voice, and i asked "Whats Torchwood?"

The woman's manner changed almost at once. "Why do you want to know that?" she asked suspiciously.

I decided to be truthful, for once. "I saw some graffiti on the back of the road sign as i came into town, I was just wondering if it was important," I said, as the voice applauded me in my

head. "Don't you know?" The woman said. I shook my head.

"Well," she began, leaning forward, becoming excited and gossipy, "Torchwood are alien investigators, and they're based right here in Cardiff,"

Aliens! I really did begin to laugh now. "What are they nuts?!" I started to say, but stopped when i saw her expression.

"You know," She said "Aliens. I wouldn't have believed it a few years ago, but what with all that's been happening. You can't deny it anymore,"

"What happened?" I asked, intrigued despite my skepticism. She looked at me oddly again.

"Where have you been?" she said. I shrugged.

Well, you know, experimental labs, running for my life. I don't get out much. When you're trying to escape from erasers you sort of lose track of the outside world.

"Well there was the Big Ben incident and those ghosts everywhere and then the metal men. It was all over the news,"

"Right. well...thanks," I said cheerily. I got out of there as fast as i could. They were mad. I mean, Aliens!

* * *

They stopped the car at the entrance to the drive. It was another huge private house, with security guards on the gate.

Mr Granson did very well for himself, as Jack knew he would. Jack decided the best approach would be to walk right up there, so he did.

"Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood. We'd like to be let through,"

"I'll have to check with Mr Granson. Do you have an appointment?" The Guard said without looking up from his paperwork.

"Oh i think he's been expecting us," Jack replied, smiling evilly. The Guard looked looked up and saw his expression. The gates opened for them.

"Okay when we get inside, I'll talk to Mr Granson. Owen and Gwen you have a scout round, Toshiko will guide you from here. Report back to me before you do anything," Jack odered, looking

pointedly at Owen.

He gave a nod of resentful agreement, "Okay,"

The three of them walked up the gravel drive. Jack heard Tosh's soft vioce in his ear piece. "There's an entrance into the cellars on the left side of the house,"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Owen and Gwen slip away to his left. He walked boldly up to the front door and rapped sharply on it with his knuckles, waiting barely a second before he let

himself in.


	4. Chapter 4

Iggy, Angel, Gasman and Fang sat in the shade of the trees. Fang had decided not to return to the cave. It was better to be in an open space, where they could take off if they needed to. They didn't want to be trapped in the cave. They sat a little way off. He could still make out the entrance through the gloom.

"Where the hell is Max?" Iggy cried, frustrated.

"Yeah. This waiting thing is really cheesing me off," The Gasman mumbled.

Fang couldn't help grinning. Well? They were funny! Even when they didn't mean to be. Especially, when they didn't mean to be.

"Just sit tight guys," he said.

"Are you laughing?" Iggy asked suspiciously.

"No," he said quickly. A twig snapped and the flock stiffened.

* * *

Jack opened the large oak door and let himself into a spacious hall. There was an impressive, solid looking staircase in the middle of the hall and a boy was leaning casually on the banister.

Jack hesitated. "Where's Mr Granson?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" The boy muttered sulkily. Jack was surprised to hear he had a shadow of an American accent.

The boy looked about fifteen. He had light brown, floppy hair which fell over his eyes. He was wearing jeans, a checked shirt over a t-shirt and an expression of annoyance.

For some reason Jack felt drawn to the boy. There was something about him. Some sort of underlying sense of sadness that made Jack want to reach out to him.

"Are you his...Grandson?" Jack hazarded. The boy looked up sharply. "He's my great uncle," he replied. "Who are you?" the boy asked. Jack marveled at how his expression transformed into

one of curiousity. It was like the boy had no mask. Like he was experiencing each emotion for the first time. All the things he was feeling showed instantly on his face.

He came slowly down the steps. "Who are you?" he asked again, because Jack hadn't answered. "Captain Jack Harkness," he said proudly "Torchwood,"

"Really?" the boy said. "Cool!" excitement lighting his face. "I'm here to see Mr Granson," Jack prompted. He was being unusually polite, but the way the boy's manner kept changing so

quickly was starting to make him uneasy.

He had a feeling he should get this boy on his side.

"Okay. He's in his study. C'mon," the boy said and with that he sprinted down the corridor. Jack followed. Catching up to him at the end of the corridor.

"What's your name?" Jack asked, curious himself. "Micheal," he said, smiling briefly, before opening another immense door. "In here," he gestured.

* * *

Gwen and Owen were having a whispered argument as they explored the cellers. "Owen!" Gwen hissed, only just managing not to raise her voice.

But this time it was Gwen contemplating the unthinkable, with her usual motives.

"We can't leave them here. We have to help them," she whispered.

"I know. I know!" Owen replied, glancing quickly towards the metal door at the end of the corridor, "But exactly _what _are you planning. What can we do?"

"Release them?" Gwen said, with just a hint of a question. Owen gave her a look. "We don't even know what they are. They could be dangerous,"

"Okay," she said quietly, "We wait for Jack," Owen nodded. "Can i just have another look?"

"You sure you can handle it?" Owen asked with concern. Gwen chose to answer this question by turning smartly and walking towards the metal door.

"Be careful," Owen whispered after her. She slipped through the door onto the other side.

* * *

The flock sat still trying not to breathe or make even the tiniest sound.

"Max?" Fang mouthed and Iggy nodded. The flock gave a collective sigh of relief as Max rounded the corner.

"Who's Hungry!" she said triumphantly "I got us bread, and pop and loads of other stuff..." her voice trailed off when she looked at Fang.

"Where's Nudge?" she asked in a hollow voice.

Fang could see her brain working. He could see her starting to collapse inside. Just like with Angel.

"Taken," he managed to reply. She dropped the shopping bags and the contents spilled to the floor.

I looked at Fang. I could see it in his eyes. No. It started as a whisper.

nonononoNoNoNoNoNONONO NO!

I was shouting inside my head.

'No!' was the main theme. Then came 'Why!'

I looked at Angels tear stained face and almost started to weep myself.

"Who?" I managed to ask through clenched teeth.

Fang shook his head.

I know i shouldn't have, but I felt so helpless. I needed someone else to tell me what to do, so i said "What now?"

I saw each of them crumble.

Then came the rage. My hands became fists. They will burn for making me feel this again. For doing this to us again.

They will burn in hell.

* * *

Jack and Micheal entered the room. There was a red plush carpet on the floor and a large mahogany desk in front of the window.

A man was stood with his back to them looking out of the window. His hair was white and his posture was definitely in trouble, yet he had the feel of power about him.

When he spoke his voice was strong and authoritative. Without turning round, he said "Thank you for bringing me Mr Harkness, Micheal, you may leave,"

"Um...Okay," Micheal said, giving Jack a worried look, before leaving.

The old man seemed engrossed in watching the work of his gardeners from the window,.

No one spoke for a while.

"I assume you've been expecting me," Jack finally said into the silence.

"Yes," Mr Granson said, turning round. Jack was getting annoyed. He couldn't be bothered with all these ceremonious silences, so decided to get straight to the point.

"I have reason to believe you have a or a number of Aliens or Alien Artifacts," Jack said matter of factly.

"Indeed i do," Mr Granson replied. Jack was surprised he admitted it so readily. Mr Granson gave a smirk.

"Just because you think it is, let us say, Impolite-"

"Disgustingly horrific," Jack supplied.

Granson continued, appearing not to hear him, "-to keep Aliens for _scientific research_-"

"-Mutilation," Jack interrupted. Both men were shouting now.

"-does not mean everyone does!" Mr Granson finished. "I am an old man Mr Harkness and i have seen things i never dreamed of. Let me explore it in my own way,"

"Did you really think that would work?" Jack asked.

"No," Granson said simply, pulling out a gun, "Which is why i have this. Can you die, Mr Harkness?"

"No," Jack said, giving the man one of his own smirks, beginning to enjoy himself now.

Mr Granson pulled the trigger.

* * *

Nudge opened her eyes. The world slowly came fuzzily back into focus, but she couldn't see much through the gloom anyway and the room was lit by a weird green light.

She was in a fairly large wire mesh cage. She wondered if she was back at the school. And where were Max and the flock?

Her thoughts were simple and they arrived slowly. Moving across her brain like treacle. Her head hurt.

She realised she was shivering. It was freezing in here and she _still _hadn't had anything to eat. She gave a quiet groan.

She heard a scuffle. It took her a while to realise it was coming from the cage opposite her. Slowly and very painfully, she shuffled to her knees and peered through the darkness

trying to see what was in the cage opposite. What she saw terrified her.

There was a..a a Thing! Nudge was used to the experiments of the school, but this was unlike anything she'd ever seen.


	5. Chapter 5

Nudge almost threw up. She felt sick and shaky and horrid. She had just reached over and touched the cage next to her and what she had felt and seen and found out was terrifying. She let out a small whimper. Aliens! Holy freakin Jesus! They were Aliens! As in outer space! And they were killing them.

It hurt her just to look at them.

Did they think she was an Alien? She stroked the feathers just protruding from her back. She wasn't exactly human was she. What would they do to her? She felt tears trickle down her cheeks and realised she was starting to cry silently. Nudge began to swear under her breath. She didn't usually because Max told her off, but this was emergency circumstances and Max wasn't here. Oh no. Max wasn't here! Max didn't know where she was! Would she die here?

Nudges brain shut down. Don't think of that. Not here. Not now. Not yet.

**

* * *

**

Gwen made her way down the aisles of cages and tubes. The green lighting cast odd shadows. Some of what she saw in the gloom made her feel sick.

There was so many. So many. Most were dead. Her gaze passed over all of them. She didn't want to look, but she did.

They were Aliens. Some of them Gwen had never even seen or heard of before. It was disgusting. It was like a morgue turned into a museum.

Thousands of rows of dead Aliens. She shivered and started to turn away. There was a small sound. Gwen stopped. There it was again. A small, pitiful and above all _human_ sound, coming from one of the cages. She started searching frantically. Her eyes skimming over all the cages until she found it. "Oh my god," she whispered hoarsely.

It was a girl. That was just it. Gwen looked and looked again for any abnormalities, but there didn't seem to be any. It was just a little girl and she was hunched over, crying. Gwen's heart immediately went out to her. The girl looked up sharply, glaring into the darkness. Gwen moved closer, towards her, into the light.

The girls eyes filled with fear and she backed away as far as she could, pressing herself against the back of the cage.

Gwen made a snap decision. Jack could say what he liked. She just _couldn't _leave her here.

"It's okay," she said "I'm here to help you, okay?"

* * *

Nudge's breathing slowed a little and she let herself relax. She moved forward an inch or two. Only to see her better, she told herself.

"That's right," The woman said soothingly, if a little shakily. "My name's Gwen. Do you have one?" she asked.

Nudge found herself nodding. "Nudge," she whispered back.

"I'm going to get you out of here," Gwen told her.

Nudge leaned back. Was this for real? Was she dreaming or something? Her brain told her that stuff like this doesn't happen. Strange women do not come and rescue you from dungeons. What would Max do? Nudge's brain was overruled by her heart. She needed someone. She needed help.

By this time the woman had unlatched the cage. Gwen held out her hand to Nudge.

She had a split second impulse to dive out of the cage and run for it. Escape. She bunched up her muscles, ready to spring.

3.. 2... 1.. now. But, instead of leaping out of the cage and running like hell, like she's planned. She found instead, her hand had slowly slithered into Gwen's.

**

* * *

**

Gwen watched Nudge's big eyes blinking slowly. Then she smiled as very slowly, Nudge reached forward and placed her hand in Gwen's.

Nudge met her eyes, looking frightened. "Thank you," Gwen said quietly as she led her out of the cage.

She almost cried out in surprise when Nudge collapsed to the floor almost instantly. "What's wrong?" she asked urgently.

"I'm...So...Hungry," Nudge murmured so quietly Gwen could barely hear her.

"Right," She said "I am not leaving you here,"

Gwen scooped Nudge up in her arms and stood up. Her stomach gave a sickly plummet when she found how light the girl was. She walked as quickly and as carefully as she could, back the way she came.

Jack opened his eyes. Mr Granson had gone. Jack swore. Then he saw Micheal staring at him in horror. "I mean...Darn," he said quickly.

"He shot you," Micheal said, slightly too loudly, "You were dead!" There was a look of pure panic on Micheal's face.

Jack didn't have time for this. None of them had time for this. "Yes, I was dead and now I'm not, now can we please get on with it,"

Micheal stood staring at him, he opened his mouth and said nothing. Jack was fighting the urge to yell at the boy, This was _important_.

"Did you see Mr Granson? Did he say where he was going? What he was doing?"

"He said he was going to...um...go Operation D," Micheal would never have told Jack this, but the boy was in shock. He was running on automatic, but Jack still couldn't contain his anger.

"WHAT!" he yelled and then felt guilty when Micheal jumped violently.

"S-sorry," Micheal stammered.

"No. No, it's fine," Jack said "Not your fault, but can you please tell me where he is so I can stop it?"

Then there was a muffled boom. The room began to shake. Too late, Jack thought, as a high pitched alarm started whirring.

"Just a hunch, but i think he might be over there," Micheal said quietly, pointing down the corridor to the source of the explosion.

You gotta hand it to the kid. Jack thought, shock to sarcasm in about thirty seconds.


	6. Chapter 6

The alarms were blaring. Owen wrenched open the door, just as Gwen reached it and ran past him.  
"What happened?" He shouted over the noise.  
"Operation D," she replied.  
"You mean-"  
"Yes,"  
"Shit,"  
Then Gwen turned round and he saw what she was holding. A rather thin looking girl lay limply in her arms.  
"What the...hell," he said, suddenly conscious of his language, now that a child was present.  
"She's alive! Owen she's alive! and human as far as I can tell," Gwen shouted back.  
"As far as you can tell?" Owen repeated, "Gwen-"  
"She's just a child!"  
Owen knew there was no arguing with her now. "Let's just get out of here," he said.

* * *

"I can feel her," Angel said suddenly, "I can hear Nudge,"  
Fang looked at Angel. She was only six, and looked so sweet and.. well angelic. So it was kinda scary when she started talking about the whole mind reading thing. Still, it was useful, and the important thing was to get Nudge back.  
Max was also looking at Angel, rather intently. "Where?" she asked quietly.  
Angel pointed. "That way,"  
Max nodded slowly, "Okay,"  
It was also kinda scary when Max went berserk, but Fang knew that without Max flipping out and kicking some butt every now and then, the flock probably wouldn't survive. Hey. It was hormonal. Teenage stress. You freak about homework and how your hair just won't go _right _for your school dance. Max freaks about her little sis being kidnapped and people trying to kill us. Each to their own.  
You know, come to think of it, their whole damn life was pretty scary. Scary was normal.  
The flock took off into the sky, with Max in front, Angel just behind. Fang flew up next to them. It took a lot to make Fang uneasy, but being seen by billions of people flying through the sky over Cardiff was one of those things.  
"We're flying a bit low," he said.  
"Doesn't matter," Max said. There was a determined look on her face. Then she laughed, "They'll probably think we're Aliens!"

* * *

Jack raced down the corridor. Micheal was running after him. "What's Operation D?" he panted.  
"Well, basically," Jack said "Every single bomb in the building goes off at once,"  
There was silence. Well, silence, except for the deafening alarms, shouting, screaming and their footsteps echoing down the corridor.  
"Oh," said Micheal quietly.  
"Too late to stop it. We have to get out now or we're dead,"  
Micheal stopped running. Jack slowed, but didn't stop. "Come on!" he yelled.  
"No," Micheal said quietly, Jack could barely hear him above the noise, "I'm staying here,"  
"Do you want to die!"  
Jack didn't hear the answer. The alarms were getting louder, meaning the walls surrounding them were probably about to implode.  
But the boy looked down at his feet and said something, which looked like, "yes,"  
Groaning, Jack ran back to him, grabbed his arm and pulled him after him. Micheal didn't protest.  
"Get a move on," Jack said, without feeling. They sprinted as fast as they could towards the door. The walls at the far end of the corridor began to crumble.  
The two collided with Gwen and Owen at the end of the corridor.  
"Jack, I-" Gwen began, and he saw the small tanned girl she was cradling in her arms.  
"Okay, just bring her," he said, quickly, they were running out of time, "I brought someone with me too," he indicated Micheal sloping along glumly. Gwen gave him a questioning look, which he ignored. Owen sighed theatrically.  
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, eh Jack. You know, I really wonder why you like children so much-" he began sarcastically.  
"Shut up Owen!"  
Their earpieces crackled and Tosh's voice said urgently. "Thought I'd lost you for a minute. There's a lot of disturbance. You need to get out of there now. Right now. I'd say you have about thirty seconds. I'm counting down,"  
There was no more because then the earpieces squealed, making them all wince, and the line went dead.  
"Thirty seconds," Jack breathed.  
"Just enough time for an exciting escape," Owen said.  
They looked at each other, and started running.

* * *

My wings were pumping. I swear I was going faster than I'd ever flown before. Probably a bad idea. I knew I would pay for it later. Most likely sooner, but right now anger was fueling me. Angel was leading. She seemed to be able to detect nudge. I wondered if her telepathic skills were becoming long distance. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  
"It's here!" Angel cried over the wind. I swerved towards her and over the edge of the trees a huge house appeared.  
No, not huge. Enourmous. As in, really really big! Can I make this any clearer?  
Think of a mansion. Now imagine a mansion about five times bigger than that one. Yeah. Feel free to say 'Wow' a couple of times, because we did.  
"Wow," I said.  
"Wow," Gazzy said, appearing beside me.  
Iggy didn't say "wow," obviously because he couldn't see it. Fang didn't either, but he gave a whistle, which is pretty big in Fang-speak. I said, "Wow," again, just to emphasise.  
"Who d'ya think lives there?" Angel asked quietly.  
"I can't see any evil scientists affording that place," I said.  
"Bet he's loaded," Gazzy said.  
I gave him my 'No freakin Duh!' look.  
"They have Nudge," Angel said even quieter than before, if possible.  
The whirring of several high pitched alarms reached us, even up here.  
"What's happening down there?" Iggy asked, "It sounds bad,"  
Then I saw, some small figures exiting the building at high speed. They looked pretty dang scared. (Dang? Where did that come from? I sure as hell hope I ain't turnin into a Texan!)  
And one of them was carrying Nudge. As usual, I didn't have a plan. I tucked my wings in and plummeted towards the ground as fast as I could. _Get your hands off her you evil, sick, twisted animals. Call yourselves human beings. Think you have Morals! Don't give me all that greater good crap, you bastards. Get your hands off her!  
_It was only when I reached the ground that I realised I had actually screamed this all out loud. Oops.  
Oh well. They all looked terrified of me. A small voice in my head, (One of mine), told me that they should be.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack flung open the front door. He could feel an intense heat just behind him. It was going to blow any second. He pushed the others out in front of him.

"Gwen," he shouted, above the noise, "Get to the-"

And that was when the first explosion went off. A wave of scorching smoke swept up the corridor and enveloped them. Jack felt himself lifted off his feet by the blast. He was flung backwards and landed on the ground so hard it took his breath away. He scrambled up, coughing, in the blinding, black smoke. He saw Owen getting gingerly to his feet, swearing as he did so. The boy, Micheal, stood a little way from him and seemed remarkably unscathed. Gwen was being helped into the waiting van by Tosh. Okay, good. All here. No wait. His eyes picked out a small figure in the doorway. It was the little girl, Gwen had rescued. The little girl...with wings, he corrected himself, as she unfolded a wonderful pair of tawny wings. Jack wasn't exactly surprised. (He was more surprised by the fact that he could still feel surprised by things like this.) The little black girl blinked. She was swaying. She flapped experimentally once, and fell over, looking shocked.

"Jack!"

It was Owen.

"I'll get her," Jack yelled back, pointing, and making, 'get the hell out of here' motions. Then he realised that wasn't what Owen was talking about.

Owen stared up at the great winged _thing _bearing down on him.

Jack saw Owen raise his gun and shouted "No! Don't!" Praying that he could hear him. Owen stopped and dropped his gun in alarm as the second winged girl landed in front of him.

She was older, and had long browny, blonde hair, and well, you could say the wings were the most prominent feature. "Right, nobody do _anything_!" Jack yelled and started sprinting back towards the building.

* * *

I skidded to a landing just inches away from the astonished man's face. If I wasn't so mad I probably would have laughed. I launched myself at him. He went down easily. I landed on him hard and I think I heard a crack. It always makes me start a little, I forget how fragile quote-unquote normal people are. I heard him inhale sharply. I knelt down and hissed "You took her didn't you. It was you! Now give her back or I'll break all your other ribs,"

Then I heard Angel yell something. I rolled off the guy and flipped onto my feet, quickly scanning the scene. Then I saw Nudge huddled in the doorway. Another man, in a long blue coat, that was flapping about his ankles, was running for her. Fang was bolting after him, his face set, and quickly catching up.

* * *

Jack glanced sideways as the boy drew up alongside him. He was dressed all in black with scruffy, slightly long, black hair, and a determined expression. Despite the urgent situation, and his mounting panic, Jack couldn't help feeling a mild amusement as the boy smoothly, sprinted past him. There was definitely something special about this lot.

* * *

Fang easily out-ran the other man and reaching Nudge, pulled her up, not unkindly, and set her on her feet. "Go!" he said to her, "Right now,"Nudge was in a bad state. She shook her head, tears sliding down her cheeks. "My wing. It hurts," she squeaked. Fang took her by the shoulder. There was no time for this! "Can you at least glide?" Nudge looked into Fang's dark eyes. He was being short with her. Nudge wondered if he was scared, because she was, though she found it hard to tell with him. As she looked into his face she knew he really did care. He just wanted her out of the way. She knew he just wanted her safe. So she nodded quietly.

I saw Fang pick up Nudge and literally throw her into the air. She gained a few feet and then snapped out her wings and glided over to us. She winced once or twice as an air current twitched the wrong feather. Her wings had a slightly burnt patch and were singed in several places. She landed almost in my arms and I gathered her up. "It's okay, sweetie," I whispered to her, stroking her hair, "It's okay I'm here," I felt her shaking and tears were forming a wet patch on my jacket. I know what it takes to make Nudge cry, and she couldn't stop the tears leaking out. "It's okay," I murmured reassuringly again. I remembered once when I was on cooking duty, Iggy had a cold, and I burnt my finger on a frying pan. I couldn't even imagine what burnt wings felt like. I hugged her tightly."Max!" It was Iggy. He was looking straight at me and his face was urgent. "The explosives!"

* * *

Jack reached the building just as the boy turned to face him. He was tall and looked about sixteen, he guessed. The boy glared at him. Jack grinned. Suddenly, the boy's head whipped round, looking scared, and he managed to back away a few steps before a fireball of hot flame and tumbling masonry hit them.

* * *

_Iggy didn't see the explosion, obviously, but he could taste the metal in the air, and he had felt the incoming rushing of the wind what felt like minutes before, but in reality had been less than two seconds. Max didn't notice until it was right on top of them, even though he'd been shouting at her. Then the explosion had been, from a sound point of view, like a whooshing noise of silence for a second as the building sucked itself in, and then a deafening noise. Indescribable. All noises, all at once, at the same time, directed at him, in a single second. Of course, all explosions were like that, and god knows he heard a lot of them, but this one was mega. The wall of sound that hit him was like a physical force and it actually knocked him over._

_

* * *

_

Have you ever seen a huge British mansion get consumed by fire and the lush acres of garden reduced to a black, ashen wasteland? Now I can say I have.

I heard Nudge and Angel scream as the the windows went first and we were covered with glass. I saw Fang disappear as the flames rose up around him. Then the whole thing seemed to collapse, layer by layer. Dust, rubble and smoke created a thick layer over our heads that blocked out the sun. _And then_, the fire rose up, drowning out everything and exploded in all directions, in a billowing, rolling storm. Finally it all ended. I crouched hugging Angel, Nudge, and Gasman, despite his tough guy act, was clung to me as well. Iggy too was hunkered down beside me. The dust settled on us, and the noise died away. It was deathly silent. My ears popped and my stunned brain threw up one thought.

Fang?


	8. Chapter 8

Jack fuzzily realised he was alive again. His consciousness struggled to kick itself awake. He'd died twice in about the last half hour. Ooh. That had hurt. He lay with his eyes closed, in darkness, as the memories began to re-emerge. He had actually _seen_ the building explode all around him, just before he'd blacked out. Jack didn't actually know what happened after you died, because he had never really passed that barrier, but he suddenly had an overwhelming sense of pity for all those people who really did go all the way. He could only imagine what it was like standing there, watching death heading full steam in your direction, knowing that this was it. Knowing that now you were going to die. Knowing that your last sights would be the the raging ball of flame all around you. He groaned as another memory presented itself to him. Determined not to be pushed away. And he relived the moment again. The explosion had hit them with unstoppable force, but seconds before Jack had managed to grab the boy next to him, by the scruff of the collar and tried to shield him, pushing them both to ground level. He felt the flames pass over his head. Felt them scorch and burn his hair, just centimeters away. When it had passed over them the boy had pushed him away, practically snarling-

* * *

"Get the hell off me, you son of a bitch!" Fang shouted. "I don't need any of your _help_," he spat.

He wrenched his arm away easily and was satisfied by the man's shocked expression. Fang struggled to his feet. He knew it was stupid. He knew it was more sensible to keep low on the ground until the worst was over, but he couldn't. He was feeling so angry. He couldn't stay still. He just wanted to run. Or hit something, preferably the guy. He couldn't really explain it. The feeling. Whatever it was, it was uncontrollable and red and raw, like a deep anger. It was a selfish feeling. He wasn't going to be saved by a god damn Whitecoat. He wasn't going to let them catch him, even if it meant dying in the smoke. At least he wouldn't be dying at their hands.

Fang spun round in a full circle. He couldn't see anything. Everything was just blackness. This was what he imagined being blind was like. He winced at the sudden insight into Iggy's mind. "Damn it!" he yelled at the world in general, but mostly at the guy in the blue coat. Then he started coughing. His vision was obscured by smoke and his thoughts were taking on a vicious turn. All he could see was the god damn _jerk_ standing there in his _stupid_ coat watching him get more and more panicky. Oh god, Fang thought. He was losing it. It took a lot to make Fang lose his cool, but he could feel himself getting out of control. he wanted to run. He wanted to hide, but he couldn't move. The smoke was getting thicker. He felt like his entire head was covered with wool or something. His eyes were streaming and he was coughing like mad. He even felt like he was deaf, because he could hear nothing, but he was sure moments before there had been alarm bells and shit. All he could hear was a rushing noise like wind and all he could feel was this intense heat all around him, because the smoke _burned_. And now he couldn't even see that stupid guy anymore. If he reached his hands out he could only see about halfway down his arms, the smoke was so thick. And now he was on his knees. Not sure how he got on his knees. The world seemed to be spinning, even though all he could see was blackness. It _felt_ like spinning. It felt like the world kept skipping, like a busted DVD. He couldn't remember anything very well. His memories were going a-wall and kept throwing up random images. _Nudge sat on his chest, poking him and grinning, one time when they were sparing and she'd flipped his legs from under him. She looked so happy. Angel walking along the curb in New York, singing to herself. Stroking her toy bear, Celeste. Jeb giving him his first candy bar, when they were little. Gazzy's face when Max had tried to cut his hair one time. Iggy cooking flawless fried eggs, while Max watched, jealously. Max kicking ass. Max smiling at him, whilst flying. Max blushing after she had kissed him on the beach. _Maybe this was his life flashing before his eyes. And now he was lying flat on his back and they were getting faster and faster. _Max, Ari, New York subway, Max, Gazzy, Jeb, Whitecoat, pain, hate, Max, the E-house, the hawks. _All of it flashing past. And more memories, stuff that he couldn't even remember happening. And then darkness.

* * *

Jack stood in shock for a second. This boy wouldn't even accept help from him. Not even when they were about to die. Whoever it was this boy thought Jack was, well, the kid really hated them. Jack knew he didn't have time for explanations. Or even words, because to talk was to be engulfed by the smoke. Jack ripped off the arms of his shirt and tied one around his mouth and nose, keeping the smoke at bay a little. The other shirt sleeve he kept for the boy who had... disappeared? Shit.

Jack dropped to his stomach and began to crawl through the tiny sliver of what could, at a stretch, be called 'air', just below the thick shroud of smoke. He could barely see a foot in front of him. That why he didn't see Micheal until he fell over him. Micheal, however, seemed unharmed, and remarkably unencumbered by the smoke. He was sat bolt upright against, what Jack felt at closer investigation, to be a wall. There were tears falling freely. Jack doubted it was the smoke. His suspicions were confirmed, when Micheal's head dropped to his hands and he began to sob. He raised his head, when Jack approached and whispered, "It wasn't my fault,"

Jack nodded, thinking that he probably wouldn't be as accustomed to the smoke, enough to speak as freely as Micheal was doing.

"I tried to help," Micheal murmured, "I always did what they wanted. Always. They made me do it,"

Jack tried to make hand gestures, to ask Micheal _what the hell was going on_! It would have been funny if it wasn't such an urgent situation.

Micheal just shook his head.

"Terrible, terrible, terrible. I couldn't stop them, because I was.. They made me..."

Jack thought irritably why he had to have a job that involved alien adolescence.

Then Jack saw the outline of an arm dimly revealed in the blackness. Ignoring Micheal, he crawled forward a little and came across the boy from before. He was limp and breathing shallowly, coughing every second or so, but he was alive. Jack motioned to Micheal, who looked panicked and shook his head.

"No," he said, "You don't understand. I can't help him. I tried," he stopped, and then began again in a sad voice, "Oh, how I tried," he whispered. "But I just can't, because they won't let me. I can't because, he, they, are supposed to be the enemy. But I can't do anything to them. I couldn't hurt them. I wish I could be... I wish I was like them...but I can't help them either,"

Micheal's rambling was getting quieter and quieter, until Jack couldn't hear it, but still he kept on, muttering to himself. Caught in his own tormented mind. Jack carefully lifted up the boy and tried to carry him, as gently as possible, to safety.

* * *

Fang's head was pounding. He felt shaky and uncomfortably hot. Too hot. He was drenched in sweat.

"He's too hot," someone said. Talk about stating the obvious. No, really? he thought sarcastically. His head gave a particularly vicious stab of pain and he couldn't help groaning slightly.

"I think he's waking up,"

He heard a scuffling sound. An excited voice was shushed by several others. Someone knelt down beside him. It was Max. He could tell. He could feel her hair tickling his ear.

"Fang?" she whispered. She sounded frightened. Reflexes must have taken over because Fang knew he wasn't exactly fully coherent. His eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly and tried to swing his legs off the bed. He then immediately regretted it as his head began to spin. He shut his eyes tight again and made a small strangled noise. Someone was pushing him back down again. And he let them. He lay down for a little while, because he felt like he couldn't lift his head without the world shattering. His slowly reawakening consciousness was feeling embarrassed by even this small sign of weakness.

He opened his eyes...again, to see the flock's five worried faces.

"What does he look like?" Iggy asked.

"Terrible," Gazzy replied grinning.

"Thanks," Fang muttered. And then they cracked up. All of them laughing, mostly from relief. Max laughing, through her tears. And looking at her, Fang swore his heart thumped a little harder.


	9. Chapter 9

Micheal had watched the flock reunite and hug and eat and laugh, feeling jealousy consume him. He felt his insides burn, wishing he could have what they had. The feeling only stayed for a second and then it slipped away, as did all the others. His emotions passed quickly and intensely, never staying, always giving way to the next new wave of feeling. Sometimes he felt like a lightening rod must feel inside a storm. The jealousy disappeared and then all he felt was sadness.

* * *

I looked around at my assembled feathered family. Nudge was looking a lot better and was now shoveling food in, practically in handfuls. Fang was sitting in a leather chair looking pale, but alert and slightly uncomfortable. Gazzy and Iggy were sat next to each other playing some sort of game with a piece of string. Angel was sat hugging her knees with her eyes closed, practically disappearing in her chair. I was on the edge of my seat, almost vibrating. I pretty much felt as relaxed as I could feel in this situation. I mean everything seemed okay, but these guys were Alien hunters. That pretty much wrote you off as insane in my book. I mean _aliens_. As in, from another planet. And they actually believed it. They were clearly wacko. Two cards short of a full deck, if you know what I mean. Just dropping in some crazy British lingo that I'm picking up. Please feel free to be educated. Me and the flock had been introduced to the entire Torchwood team earlier. They all seemed really nice and sincere, but I just couldn't get over how people who looked so sane could believe in something so _in_-sane. My eyes swiveled back to Gazzy and Iggy. Wait a minute...String?

"Okay guys, Give it up," I said. They both immediately looked guilty. "Give!" I commanded, holding out my hand. Gazzy, grumbling under his breath dropped the half made bomb into my hand. We had all been gathered to the hub for some sort of meeting, and I didn't think they'd appreciate having it blown apart. We were sat in a circle of chairs, like some cheap support group. You can just imagine it can't you. 'Hello, I'm Max and I'm a mutant bird freak...' You have got to be kidding. The only other kid there that wasn't part of the flock was Micheal. He was sat off to one side, looking out of place. There was something weird about him. I wasn't sure what. It might have just been my none too welcome paranoia kicking in, but there was definitely something not right about that kid. He reminded me of some kids at the school. He looked like he was always anticipating the next blow. I couldn't stop myself from wincing as pain stabbed my forehead, and then the voice was back. Oh, joy!

_Max_, the voice said, sounding oddly muffled. I stuck my finger in my ear. It sounded like a long distance call. _You need to help Micheal. His destiny is intertwined with yours_.

Right. Check. Destiny. Gotcha. _Torchwood can help you all. _

Torchwood. Great, I thought, but can we stop with all the crackly static. My head felt like a TV antenna. "Ow!" I said angrily, as a piercing, high pitched ringing faded in and out. It sounded like a dialing tone. Fang was looking at me with concern. How many times has that happened now?

"What happened?" he asked.

"I think the voice just went long distance," I said with fake cheerfulness, trying to sound like everything was a-okay.

Fang opened his mouth again to say something, but then Jack banged into the room. "Great to see you're all here," Jack said cheerfully, "Let the bonding commence,"

Fang resolutely shut his mouth, which i knew meant he probably wouldn't talk at all for the whole meeting. Lets just say, we're not the most social of genetic freaks. Jack is the leader of Torchwood, and almost always wears a long blue coat that looks like its from world war 2. Stylish, huh? Don't tell me I don't follow the fashions. We're cooler than cool itself. Not to sound conceited or anything.

"I would just like to point out that this is all Gwen's idea," Jack said, flopping into a chair, pointing at her as she came into the room.

I think we can safely say that the welsh accent shocked me when I first heard it, but I really love Gwen's accent.

"I just thought it would be nice to get to know each other," she said. I nearly died in my chair, trying to smother my laughter. Gwen is second in command and I think of her as 'the nice one', so far. Organising a get-together and saying it would be good to 'get to know each other' is a very Gwen-like thing to do. And, oh god, the accent is adorable!

Then Owen made an entrance into the room. He's the confident, young, medical doctor who treated Fang and Nudge. In the past couple of hours we have hung out here, I had already deduced with my incredible intellect, that Owen annoys the hell out of me. A lot. After him came Toshiko, usually called Tosh. She's the techie and is very quiet, and a little shy, i think. Everybody got themselves seated and there was a lot of looking around nervously. Finally Ianto ran in. "Sorry I'm late, " he said. He went and stood behind Jack's chair, resting his hands on the back. Well, Ianto. What can I say? The paper pusher, apparently, but also something more. He perched himself on the arm of the chair. Look, I'm not homophobic or anything. I mean I'm totally fine with the whole gay thing. Totally fine, but if he's gonna sit on Jack's lap... I mean, there are six year old kids here. I looked over at Angel... who was looking back at me, grinning. Damn that mind reading! Gwen seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "There are children here," she said suggestively, not knowing that the youngest child was now exchanging winks and knowing smiles at the rest, whilst giggling to herself. Ianto, however, obediently moved into an adjacent chair.

"We're not children," Iggy said, a hard note in his voice. I stopped grinning abruptly, and turned to him, slightly surprised. Gwen looked at him too. "Children get homes and get tucked in by their parents and get given presents and bikes and stuff," My stomach felt like it wanted to curl up. Oh, Iggy. "Children don't get-man handled and captured and threatened and blown up. I never had a childhood. Nobody sees us as children, so how can we be? I don't think I've ever felt like a child,"

Iggy is so good - about everything - that I almost forget about him. I'd never heard Iggy talk about things like this, not to me anyway. I think he's closest to the Gasman, even though me and Fang are closer in age, but he doesn't talk to us. We're not a touchy feely family. None of us like to talk about this stuff, so it just builds up inside and I guess you can't choose when you're gonna spill. It'll be one word or one sentence that sets you off.

"What's you're name again?" Gwen asked kindly.

"Iggy," he said wetly. The Gasman crawled over, leaned out of his chair and hugged Iggy awkwardly. That just made my heart swell. My tough little guys. Then I leaned in and hugged him too. And then it just became an Iggy pile on of love. We finished and returned to our seats with dignity. Gwen seemed to know not to push him, besides that probably gave her enough insight into our lives. She moved round the circle and got to...Fang. I made myself comfortable. This should be funny.

"Your name's Fang isn't it?" she said, encouragingly.

He glared at her. No answer.

"How old are you?" she tried again.

Shrug. No answer.

"You're very quiet aren't you?"

Slouch down in chair. No answer. Me and Jack burst out laughing.

* * *

Micheal watched the fruitless interrogation of Fang blankly. His mind was still replaying the flock hugging Iggy and each time brought a lump to his throat and tears to his eyes. They thought they had no one because they didn't have parents. They had each other. He had no one. Why them? Why couldn't he have that? It wasn't fair. He knew he was supposed to destroy them. He could feel it deep down inside him. A lust for blood that was so strong, but it opposed eveything else in him. Every single conscious thought was telling him not to. Oh, a conscience. He still had a conscience. Why couldn't they have taken that from him as well. He had to say 'They', because he couldn't say 'Father'. Never 'Father'. Never again would he call anybody by that name. He didn't need parents, but he did need someone. And he started to cry, silently. And the addiction pushed so desperately down inside him, began to surface, bringing red haze over his mind and a glint to his eye.


	10. Chapter 10

_Okay, I haven't been on here for a while, so I've revised all my chapters and corrected spelling mistakes and what not. I'm amazed at how bad my spelling used to be, but no more! I've also changed it all to normal font, and separated the different points of view with those funny lines instead of using Bold. And I've added a new, if a little short, chapter 10. Yay! Although, I haven't updated this in so long, I'm not sure my writing style in this chapter fits with the rest of the story. Please let me know. :-)_

* * *

Jack sat up suddenly when he heard the scream. It was one of the worst, most heart wrenching noises he'd ever heard. So full of pain and anguish. He saw Micheal topple off his chair, falling forward in a frozen crouch. He collapsed on the floor near his chair, screaming. Jack jumped to his feet as the panic ensued. "Everybody remain calm!" he shouted, but, of course, nobody payed him any attention. He stood stock still in the middle of the turmoil, as everybody, as one, backed hurriedly away from Micheal. "Jack what's going on?" Gwen yelled to him, fear in her voice. Jack opened his mouth to answer, but his attention was caught by the girl with wings. Max jumped up suddenly, her face a picture of horrific realisation. "Everybody up and away," she shouted, "Now!" And on that command the winged children launched themselves into the air. There was a flurry of confused feathers as all of them soared up to the ceiling. Micheal knelt on the floor, curling up, covering his head, the scream having now turned to a moan. And then he started to change...

* * *

Fang launched himself into the air, gaining height easily. He tried to turn in midair to see what the hell was going on, but there wasn't time, and anyway he could picture it all too clearly.

"Everybody get away from him right now!" he yelled, grabbing a struggling Nudge by the collar of her shirt, and pulling her up to the ceiling with him. The flock perched on an outcrop of architectural design that jutted out from the domed roof. Fang caught Max's eye, and they both peered down, keeping the rest of the flock back from the edge. The screams had stopped, now there was just a low, pitiful, keening sound that sent a chill through him. Oh hell, He thought, feeling an unaccustomed sense of fear fill him. He knew what was coming, but he couldn't have pulled his eyes away from that scene. Not even if someone had offered him a thousand of those chocolate chip cookies that Max loved so much. His eyes remained fixed, even though the sight made him feel like he was about to hurl.

Fang watched the small figure that was Micheal begin to deform. His hands curled into fists as they became hairier and claw like. His face elongated, twisting into a snout. Even from this height Fang could see every detail. Slowly he shifted, and looked up... at Max. His now yellow eyes blinked up at them. His fangs just visible, poking out of his mouth. Eraser. Micheal was an Eraser! He smiled up at Max. Definitely at Max. Fang saw them lock gazes, and Max seemed to be having one of her internal conversations. He could tell because she was looking slightly distracted, and tense, with a frown on her face, all at the same time. The Micheal Eraser stared up at her. Fang glared down at him menacingly. What are you doing? He thought. Stop looking at her. He touched Max's arm, carefully pulling her back from the edge. As far as Fang was concerned, Micheal was no longer a friend, and never had been. Max looked at Fang, her beautiful eyes filled with... something, at his want to protect her, but then her eyes were drawn back to Micheal's, who hadn't taken his own eyes off her. Micheal moved into a predatory crouch. No way, Fang thought to himself. No way was that thing getting anywhere near Max. His eyes locked on the eraser's hairy body, searching for the weak points, Fang dropped off the ledge, and landed on his feet, in a half crouch in front of it.

* * *

"Fang. No!" I yelled, watching him straighten up slowly, thinking of the last time he had confronted an eraser head on. Last time Ari had almost killed him. It wasn't just Fang's safety I was thinking of. I had seen something in Micheal's eyes. There was something else there, besides the mind of an eraser. Fang began to circle Micheal, his face set. "No!" I shouted again, dropping myself off the edge and falling through the air to the floor.

I landed on my feet just as Fang said, "You know if he takes off we'll have hundreds of them after us,"

I couldn't think of anything to say to that, so I just grabbed Fang's arm and tried to pull him away. "Just wait," was all I could think to say. There was something else there. I moved closer to Micheal, still wary and keeping my distance. And then I saw it again. Micheal looked at me and there was a flicker of despair in his gaze, as if it was saying 'help me'.

_Help him Max._ The voice urged. I banged my ear absently as the static noise started up again. Micheal's eyes were locked on me again. I felt Fang standing just behind me. He has an annoying habit of getting as close as possible without you noticing, but now I was glad of it. I knelt down in front of Micheal, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Fang's rigid, tense form.

Suddenly Micheal's hand snapped out and he grabbed my wrist. I winced and cried out despite myself. Fang leaped forward at my gasp of pain. Micheal began to squeeze my wrist, his face totally expressionless, as I tried to wrench my arm away. I could almost feel my circulation stopping and my fingers began to go red. Oh god oh god oh god! He's going to break it, I thought as my hand began to throb. Fang shook Micheal hard, but he still had hold of my arm, so I ended up shaking too.

"Stop that!" I yelled. Micheal might have been breaking my wrist, but that was so not what I needed right now. Fang stopped immediately, giving me an apologetic look, but he didn't say anything. He gets like that sometimes. Completely silent. Fang looked from me, to Micheal, and back again, and then brought his fist back, and hit Micheal round the head with so much force, I'm sure I felt the vibrations go up my arm. Then Micheal let go, and Fang dragged me away, as if I needed dragging. " Holy freaking hell!" I growled, rubbing my already swelling wrist. Got anymore bright ideas? I thought to the voice, but, as usual, it didn't answer. I heard a strange whimper. It was Micheal.

I crouched down to his eye level again, this time at a safe distance. I tucked my wings in carefully and put my hands on my knees and just looked at Micheal. His eyes flickered oddly, gaining and losing the evil eraser glint, and then he gave a sigh, his posture drooping. He put his head in his hands and began to cry. His tears were silent, but I could see his mutated shoulders shaking. I felt my anger vanish. There was something child like about him, and I couldn't hate him. He wasn't just an eraser. I leaned my head back and looked up at Fang, who was looking on with a mixed expression of disgust and pity.


	11. Chapter 11

(This chapter is very short, but I wanted to put it up, and I'll revise it later. Hope you like it. :-D)

* * *

I sat, barely moving, continuing this staring contest with the Micheal Eraser. His eyes kept flashing with the evil glint of bloodlust before Micheal's eyes closed slowly, and remained closed.

"Micheal," I said quietly. Then, to my alarm, he fell slowly backwards, and collapsed on the floor. There was a large dart sticking out of his arm. Me and Fang flew to our feet suddenly. Jack was stood at the entrance of the Hub, holding a large, black gun. He cocked it against his shoulder.

"Tranquiliser," he explained in one word.

"Why did you do that?" I shouted, in outrage.

"We don't know what it was," Jack said, coming forward, his face hard. Fang nodded silently.

"It was Micheal!" I said, adding, "Obviously!" In an exasperated voice.

Then I had one of my super reliable split second decisions. "Everybody down!" I ordered to the ceiling, and the flock descended from the rafters. Alien hunters who are trigger happy on the tranqilisers. We were so out of here. "We're leaving right now,"

"Where to?" Fang asked coldly. I stopped suddenly.

"What?" I said. Ever since I could remember Fang had been decently sane. Since when was he in league with the Alien bunch? "Sorry Fang," I said sympathetically, "I think you may have gone mental. It is catching, but everyone with half a brain cell would leave right now. So that's what I'm doing,"

"Max. I think we should stay," Fang said. He looked over at Micheal's limp form. "I would have done the same thing," he said. What? "He was an Eraser Max. You know how clever they are. We don't know what he was about to do,"

I shook my head at him. Speechless.

Then Nudge moved up next to Fang, she always did have a soft spot for him, and she looked up at him and Jack. "I think we should stay too," she said, looking up at me with huge eyes.

Angel came up and took my hand. "It's OK Max," she said sweetly. "They're good people. Micheal was scary, but I heard him thinking. He's good too. He was just scared as well,"

That was it then. I trusted Angel's ability, but still, he didn't have to tranquilise him. I glared at Jack, and moved swiftly past. My graceful, huffy exit was hindered by the fact that I had to maneuver round Micheal's prone body, before slumping angrily into one of the black chairs.

"I guess we're staying for a while then," I said.

* * *

Ever since I had tried to run out on them, Jack had seemed to like me even more, but I remained frosty with him. It had become like a war now. His persistent, 'we're good guys' vibe, and me giving him a 'like I give a damn' look back, every time.

Owen had taken Micheal somewhere to be checked over. I guess they had never seen an Eraser before. It made me even less trusting, as it reminded me of the school tests, but Angel's continued good mood reassured me. There was a disturbing white light, coming from the door Micheal had been taken into, which Jack now entered from.

"Hey Bird girl," Jack called over to me, in his affectionate way, "I got something for you,"

I turned around indignantly, about to give him an earful on the whole 'Bird girl' reference, but was brought up short when he threw something at me. It hit me in the face, and I yelped like a big wimp, although it was soft, nonthreatening cloth. I spat the material out of my mouth, muttering about revenge. Then I held up a large, black sweater.

"What's this?" I said disapprovingly. I wasn't about to be won over that easily.

"Oh Max. That is so cool!" Nudge cried excitedly.

"It is?" I said, wondering what was so amazing about this ugly sweater. Fang looked up at it and grinned - Jeez, it must be good!

"Turn it around," Jack said, making circling motions. I obediently flipped the sweater round the other side. Printed across the back was a pair of huge, white, angel wings.

"Awesome!" I couldn't help commenting. I pulled the sweater on and zipped it up. Then I spun round to show the flock my back, complete with the picture of wings.

"I want to wear it! It looks like my wings!" Angel cried in delight.

"Sure," I said, shrugging it off. On Angel, it went almost past her knees, and hung over her hands, but she didn't care. She squealed and hugged me. "It's so great. Just like us. You should wear it all the time!"

"If she wore it all the time, she'd smell even more than she does already!" The Gasman said, holding his nose.

I searched for something to throw at him.

"You can't talk!" Iggy commented.

Jack laughed. "Seriously. When did you guys last have a bath?" The flock suddenly looked incredibly shifty.

* * *

Jack never thought he'd be searching the Hub for mango scented shampoo, he was sure they had here at some point. He turned round to see Gwen looking at him.

"What are you doing?" she said.

"Looking for mango scented shampoo," he responded, handing her someone's rucksack. Gwen folded her arms.

"You're the one who's always telling us not to get too attached!" she cried. "You like them, don't you?"

Jack straightened up and sighed.

"Why don't you go see if Owen needs any help," he said.

A/N: This isn't really completed, but I got bored of it so I've stopped writing. Sorry! I've kept it posted up here so people can still read it if they want, but you'll have to continue it in your imaginations.


	12. Author Note

**This has been copied and pasted from my profile page. 07/March/2011  
**

"Hi.

I'm sorry none of this has been updated in years.

I've moved over to Fictionpress where I'm writing my own original stories. If you like my writing here, and I assume we have similar taste in books, then you might like what I'm writing now, so check it out.

I'm sending out a huge big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and all your lovely comments on my writing. It's been so supportive and encouraging.

I'm really glad people are still reading and enjoying my stuff. Unfortunately I doubt I'll update these anymore, but I know some of them need an ending desperately. :) So I've put a poll at the top to decide which story I'm going to finish properly for you.

Thanks so much for reading,

Alias x"


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